Tire wheels are mounted on tires of automobiles and hence a variety of grime can be deposited on the tire wheels in an amount increased with time. The condition of wheels has a major effect on the over all appearance of a car. However, in the course of driving wheels come across a variety of environmental conditions. They are constantly subjected to an array of aggressive contaminants including brake dust, salt, and traffic film.
In addition to heated particles from brake pads, discs, and brake lining, which bombard coated or uncoated wheel surfaces, there are also particles from air and dirt/soil from roads that easily adheres to the rough build up, which also incorporates a range of salts and acids. Composition of soil may vary with location and driving conditions. However, harm is always more pronounced in the presence of moisture, which reacts with soil, and break dust and coatings become destroyed followed by damage of the wheels.
In general, dirt found on wheels is from organic and inorganic origin. Organic dirt includes mineral oil, vegetable oil, animal fat and fine particles of carbon black and graphite, while dust, traffic dirt and metal particulates from break dust are considered inorganic. The composition of brake pads may vary by type of resin used as well as on the metal ratio. Thus due to the variability of road soil and brake dust, the material to be cleaned from each vehicle wheel varies every time it is cleaned.